AUSA 2015: Lockheed Martin ARES VTOL UAV poised for DARPA flight tests

[Zarvan]

Cargo version of the Lockheed Martin ARES 'transformer' UAV. Source: Lockheed Martin
Key Points

• Lockheed Martin's ARES 'transformer' is scheduled to begin test flights in June 2016
• The USMC has taken the lead on requirements planning, but hopes to organise a JCTD with other operators who also need flexible, terrain-independent transport for small ground units

Lockheed Martin's Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) is preparing to enter the third phase of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA's) Transformer (TX) vehicle development programme next year. Three months of test flights are scheduled to begin in June 2016, Lockheed Martin officials said during a 13 October interview at the Association of the US Army's (AUSA's) annual conference in Washington, DC.

"In January we will go into ground test at Yuma [Proving Ground] in New Mexico," Bob Wetherall, Lockheed Martin's ARES programme manager, told IHS Jane's . The prototype will then be flown over the course of three months, Wetherall said.

After the concept is proven, the Pentagon is expected to develop requirements that could lead to a programme of record to acquire the system. The US Marine Corps (USMC) has taken the lead on requirements planning, but hopes to organise a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) with other US military operators who also need flexible, terrain-independent transportation for logistics, personnel transport, and tactical support missions for small ground units.

Lockheed Martin is working with Piasecki Aircraft Corp on a design that includes twin tilting wing-mounted ducted fans providing vertical lift and then transitioning to deliver forward thrust. The ARES flight module is designed to transport a variety of payloads. The flight module would travel between its base and field operations to deliver and retrieve several different types of detachable mission modules, including cargo resupply, casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

DARPA in 2010 selected AAI Corporation and Lockheed Martin as prime system integrators for the TX vehicle programme, which it characterised at the time as a 'flying jeep' that would combine 4x4 road performance with a capability to reconfigure into a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) air vehicle.

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AUSA 2015: Lockheed Martin ARES VTOL UAV poised for DARPA flight tests - IHS Jane's 360